Proteomic profiling and role of acetylcholine binding protein in aged lymnaea stagnalis

Abstract

Age-related changes in the central nervous system (CNS) is a multi-factorial process involving subtle alterations to several subcellular systems, including a disturbance to cholinergic signalling that becomes a prominent feature in age-related neurodegenerative diseases (Giacobini, 1990). Previous work in the L. stagnalis nervous system highlighted synapse-specific alterations in subsets of neurons that are accompanied by a marked decline in feeding behaviour in chronologically aged animals (Arundell et al., 2006; Yeoman et al., 2008). To identify common elements that lead to a reduction in feeding behaviour, 2D Difference in-gel Electrophoresis (2D DIGE) analysis highlighted 49 proteins that were differentially expressed in the aged L. stagnalis CNS. Amongst them, three key protein groups involved in maintaining the cytoskeletal integrity, energy-dependent processes, and chaperones were significantly altered in the aged CBG. The expression level of cytoskeletal proteins such as tubulin and actin, putative chaperones such as 14-3-3, and kinases such as arginine kinase as well as mitochondrial proteins such as reductase were all significantly down-regulated in aged CNS (p < 0.05) and are well aligned with changes that are observed in normally aged higher vertebrates. This suggested that the alterations in functional neuronal circuits that accompany a reduction in feeding behaviour in L. stagnalis may encounter a similar set of biochemical challenges as those experienced in higher vertebrates.

Date of Award	27 Jan 2010
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Brighton
Supervisor	Mark Yeoman (Supervisor) & Katrin Jennert-Burston (Supervisor)